


After All

by MarleneDFan1901



Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Character, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Female Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Netflix and Chill, No Lesbians Die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-05-18 05:27:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14846673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarleneDFan1901/pseuds/MarleneDFan1901
Summary: I was going to split chapters three and four up into parts because that's how I wrote it on paper. Until I thought what I wrote for chapter three originally was too short so I decided to put all of chapter three and part of chapter four up together. Hopefully y'all enjoy. And I'm so, so sorry for taking a couple centuries to get this up.





	1. Chapter 1

Grace and Frankie have been in each others lives for so long that being apart for any length of time was strange. So when Frankie went to Santa Fe, Grace cried for days, drank more than ever and couldn’t eat. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn’t. Then right when she’d start to feel somewhat ok, she’d call Frankie and spiral right back to where she was right when Frankie left. Every time the women talked, Grace wanted to yell and beg Frankie to come back. But something always stopped her. Maybe it was the fact that Grace was the one that told Frankie she should go. And telling her to come back would understandably be confusing. Grace slowly started spending more time in Frankies studio. It went from occasionally going to look at the paintings the other woman had to leave behind to spending every night in there.

“Mom, why do you look like you want to kill someone?” Brianna asked. 

“This hangover is killing me”

“That’ll happen when you drink without breaks” 

“Does sleeping count as a break?”

“Not long enough when you’ve been drinking a much as it looks like you’ve been”

“Mom, what’s gotten into you lately?” Mallory asked.

“Nothing”

“The last time you drank like this, Dad came out….oh my god. Did Frankie come out? Is that why she went to Santa Fe?” 

Grace shook her head. She could feel tears build in her eye again. She made then poured herself a martini. 

“No, Mom. Let’s not go down this road again” Brianna warned as she took the glass away.

“So, why are you drinking this much?”  

“It’s nothing” Grace got up and walked away. 

“She’s been acting so weird, like Frankie weird, since Frankie left. You don’t think…?” Mallory whispered.

“I don’t need to visualize two wrinkled old women fucking. So, please, don’t finish that question” Brianna cringed. Mallory nodded in agreement as the sisters sat on both sides of their mother. 

“Are you in love with Frankie?” Mallory asked gently. 

“What?” Grace chuckled. “Of course not. I like men. Only men.” 

“Mom” Brianna said knowing her mother’s lying.

“Fine,” Grace sighed. “I am. I’m in love with her”

Her daughters sighed, too, as they paced the room.

“How could this happen, Mom?” Mallory asked.

“I didn’t want it to happen. Believe it or not, I didn’t plan this.” Grace almost yelled.

“Ok, Mom, relax. Why don’t you just call Frankie?” 

_ “No. _ I can’t. The moment I start to be somewhat ok, I call her and I’m right back to where I was when she left. Like I’ve been doing for weeks. It might as well be torture. But I can’t not hear the sound of her voice. It’s…” Grace sighed. “It’s like music. I know it’s so ridiculous” 

“No, it’s not. We just didn’t realize you loved Frankie so much” 

Grace nodded as she looked at her older daughter. All three women sat speechless and motionless. Grace wanted someone say something, anything. But no one said anything. 

 

**_Santa Fe_ **

 

Frankie’s trying to enjoy. She can’t stop thinking about being home with her children, her unborn grandchild and especially Grace. She hated being away from Grace like this. Frankie missed the other woman walk into and light up a room. Frankie missed being home with the other woman; wrapping her arms around her when something exciting happened. Frankie hadn’t felt like this….in too long. But it’s been a long time. 

“I miss her, Sol. I have no idea what to do about this” Frankie almost cried. 

“Does Jacob know how you feel?” Sol asked. 

“No. I can’t tell him. He’ll think I want to break up or something. Which I don’t. I don’t think, anyway. I don’t know” 

“He won’t if you’re honest with him” 

Frankie hung up and told Jacob basically everything she’d told Sol on the phone. He didn’t react the way she thought he was going to. Thank god.

“Call Grace. Tell her we’re coming back” Jacob smiled. Frankie excitedly called Grace and told her. 


	2. Chapter 2

As Grace got out of her car and entered the airport, she felt a wave of nerves hit her like a ton of bricks. But she was also excited to be able to wrap her arms around the woman she loves so much it sometimes drives her nuts. Grace waited for what felt like hours then she saw her. Grace saw Frankie walking toward her and nothing else existed in that moment. Both women felt tears form in their eyes as they got closer to each other and hugged.

“I missed you” Grace said as she felt her tears fall down her face. 

“I missed you, too” Frankie replied as she wiped Graces tears. Grace quickly put her head down so Frankie wouldn’t see her blush. Frankie put her arm around the impossibly thin woman waist of the blonde. Grace put her hand on the brunettes shoulder. She smiled as she felt the warmth of that small part of Frankies body against her. It felt so natural and amazing at once. the ride home was the best part. Frankie talked about how much she missed home and gushed over her soon to be granddaughter. Grace smiled at how happy Frankie sounds. 

“How’ve you been?” Frankie asked.

“I’ve been good” Grace replied. 

“What’s new with the house?” 

“Not much”

“Really?”

“Yeah” 

 

**Weeks Later**

 

The women sat in the chairs outside of what used to be their beach house. As Grace took Frankies hand, she felt a flood of emotions she wasn’t prepared for. She looked at Frankie with a scared yet sad look in her eyes. 

“Where are we going to live now?” Grace asked almost crying. 

“Here” a mans voice answered. Grace looked up to see Robert and Sol coming toward her and Frankie. Both women stood up; Frankie smiled while Grace shook her head. 

“What’s the matter?” Sol asked.

“We,  **_I_ ** , don’t need people buying things for me” Grace replied 

“Come on, you need somewhere to live” Robert said.

“Yeah, but not somewhere I didn’t work my ass off for”

“Grace,” Frankie started as she put her hands on Graces shoulders, “we’re not going back to that retirement community and you know it”

“You’re right,” Grace started, “I’ll see if Brianna will let me stay with her”

“Will you get rid of your pride for a minute?” 

Grace looked at Frankie with an annoyed look on her face. She followed the other woman inside the house.

“This isn’t our house” Grace said.

“That shouldn’t matter. We have a place to live that isn’t that shitty retirement community”  

“Fine,” Grace sighed knowing Frankie was right, “we’ll stay here”

“Great,” Robert said enthusiastically, “here are the keys”

“Where did you come from?” 

“We’ve been here the whole time”

“Do you want rent or anything?”

“No.”

“We should pay you or something”

“There’s no need. The house is paid off and you were paying utilities anyway” 

Both women looked at each other. Grace could feel her heart beat a little faster as a small smiled formed. When Frankie smiled back at her, Grace looked away and put her head down. She couldn’t let Frankie see her blush. 

“You ready?” Frankie asked. 

“Yeah” Grace sighed. 

Both women proceeded to walk into the house. Frankie held Graces hand out of excitement. Grace looked down at their hands and intertwined fingers. Without a lot of thought, she felt herself take a deep breath. 

“Are you ok?” Frankie asked as the women continued walking. 

“Yeah. I’m great. Why?” Grace asked. 

“You’re squeezing my hand so tight, it might break.” 

Grace loosened her grip as she looked at Frankie with a sorry look in her eyes. She couldn’t help but notice the look in the dark haired womans eyes. It was more than just a comforting look. Much more. Both women felt tears in their eyes as they walked into the house and saw everything as it was before. Frankie, after a moment, made herself at home like nothing happened. Grace put herself together and sat next to Frankie. 

“I never thought I’d come back here with you and be happy about it” Grace said. 

“Me neither. But I’d rather be here with you than in that horrible retirement community” Frankie looked around. Grace agreed. Both women sat in silence. Grace kept glancing over at the brunette next to her. 

“Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” Grace randomly asked.

“No. Where is this coming from?” 

“Just…observation”

“You never talk like this. At least not to my face. What’s going on with you? Are you dying?” 

“No, I’m not dying. I’m just telling you”

“This isn’t like you, Grace. I’m going to break down your walls whether you like it or not” 

“Good luck with that” Grace got up and walked away. 

Frankie smiled as she looked at the very thin body of the other woman. The way here jeans fit her body made Frankie have thoughts that no person should have about anyone. 

“Hey. What are you doing here?” A mans voice asked. Frankie looked up and Grace looked from the kitchen to see a familiar face that neither of them wanted to see.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to split chapters three and four up into parts because that's how I wrote it on paper. Until I thought what I wrote for chapter three originally was too short so I decided to put all of chapter three and part of chapter four up together. Hopefully y'all enjoy. And I'm so, so sorry for taking a couple centuries to get this up.

“We live here…kind of. What are you doing here?” Grace replied looking at Nick like she wanted to kill him. 

“I guess I live here, too. But mine’s definite” Nick chuckled awkwardly.

“No. Frankie and I live here, you need to leave”

“Where am I going to go?”

“You’re insanely rich and you’re telling me you have nowhere to go?”

“I have plenty of places to go. I just can’t decide. Plus, knowing you’re here makes me want to be here even more” 

Frankie felt herself getting nauseous and got up. She couldn’t stand the asshole anymore. 

“No, Nick. There’s not enough room” 

“What about your kids rooms?” 

“They’re used for storage now”

Nick looked at Grace for a moment. He then sat down.

“We both know that if the three of us live together, we’ll drive each other nuts. It’s taken me five years just to get used to Frankie”

"Hey!" Frankie protested

"I'm sorry but it's true. You're...a lot to get used to"   
Frankie nodded, knowing it's true. Grace kept trying to convince Nick to go live somewhere else. Unfortunately nothing worked.   
"Fine" Grace sighed in frustration. "You can stay. If you even think of trying to come to my room, I'm kicking you right out"    
"I promise, I won't try anything" Nick nodded. Grace was suspicious but was willing to give him a chance.   
"I'll set up the couch for you" Grace started. Nick looked at her in confusion. "I wasn't kidding when I said the kids rooms are used for storage.  

**The Next Day**

  
Grace felt a warmth on her back as she opened her eyes. She turned herself over to see Frankie.    
"Frankie," Grace started "Frankie, wake up"   
"Good morning, roomie"   
"What are you doing here? I thought you stopped being scared of robbers when we went to that class"    
"I was. I still am. Then skullcap came to live with us"   
"What am I supposed to do? Kick him out?"   
"It'd be really fun to watch. What is it with you two anyway? Do you have feelings for him or something?"   
"Dear god, no! Why are you acting jealous?"    
"I'm not. I was just asking"   
"You never 'just ask.' What's going on?"   
"I don't like him. At all"    
"Why?"   
"He stole our business idea, he---" Frankie cut herself off before she let her true feelings spew out like word vomit.   
"He what?"   
"Nothing"   
"Frankie"   
"Grace"    
Frankie was never the type to put any walls up. Until hey feelings became a thing. She didn't even tell Sol about her feelings for Grace. This same woman she's in love with is the same woman she's supposed to, used to, hate.    
"Wait. You're not jealous because you don't like him. You're jealous because---"    
"I'm not jealous at all"    
Grace gasped and shook her head in disbelief.    
"Why didn't you tell me?" Grace asked.   
"I was scared of how you'd react"   
"I would've been fine with it. Have you told Nick yet?"   
"Told him what?"   
"That you're in love with him"    
"No"   
"Why not?"   
"Because I'm not in love with him"    
"What?"   
"I'm not in love with him"    
"I heard you but what do you mean you're not in love with him?"   
"How else to you want me to put it?"   
"Who are you in love with?"   
"You" Frankie thought to herself.    
"No one"   
"You're lying"   
"How can you tell?"    
"You've never been good at hiding your feelings"   
Grace was right. Frankie's always sucked at hiding her feelings. Even when she tried, she couldn't hide them. For months, maybe even the last few years, Frankie knew this moment was coming. As much as she may have practiced, which wasn't much, she wasn't ready for this moment at all.    
"I am in love. Just not with Nick. I'm in love with a woman" Frankie casually mentioned.    
"Cool. But with who?"    
"You" Frankie answered.   
Grace couldn't move except to put her hands on the kitchen island. Frankie was hoping Grace would say something, anything. 

"Since when?" Grace finally asked.   
"Since we met basically"    
"That long?"    
"That long"    
"What made you not tell me?"    
"Fear. Fear of what you'd think, what you'd say, you rejecting me"   
Grace stared at Frankie for a moment. Thinking of what to say. But instead without thinking, she walked over to the other woman and pressed her lips to Frankies. When Grace realized what she was doing, she quickly pulled away.     
_ "No no no. That shouldn't have happened. Why did I do that?" _   
Grace panicked


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, here's chapter four.

“I’m so sorry, Frankie. I shouldn’t have done that” Grace quickly backed away from Frankie. She started to nervously pace back and forth.

“It’s ok”

“No, it’s not”

“It really is, Grace. I promise you. It's fine.”

“We can’t do this. Not right now”

“That’s perfectly fine. But, why kiss me and panic?”

“Because I…..I don’t know. I can’t explain it. Believe me, I’ve tried. Even to myself. No explanation ever comes to me. I can’t explain why I want to kiss you all the time. My mind goes blank” Graces breathing became heavy. Frankie took her hand and brought her over to the couch.

“Grace, take deep breaths. You’re going to be ok. When you’re ready, just talk to me. Tell me what’s going on”

“We can’t do this” Grace said in between her breaths.

“Do what?” Frankie asked.

“A relationship. We can’t do it. Not right now. I’m not ready”

“Like I said, that’s fine. I don’t want to do anything you’re not ready for”

“I know, thank you. We just can’t right now”

“That’s fine. Just….let me know when you are”

Frankie put her hand on Graces shoulder and smiled. She then got up and went to her studio. Majority of the time, no matter her mood, Frankie painted. Her feelings are her inspiration. But today, there was nothing. There was no motivation to paint. All she wanted to do was get Ben & Jerry’s and pour vodka in it again. She, believe it or not, actually didn’t lose her phone and she looked at a selfie of her and Grace. From when they first got the house back. Frankie carefully looked at Grace; the way she looked at Frankie, the way she smiled while she looked into Frankies eyes. Then she realized why Grace wasn’t ready for a relationship. It had nothing to do with Frankie personally. Grace is terrified of her feelings.

  


**Months Later**

  


Grace came practically running down the stairs, calling Frankie. She seemed happier and more relaxed. She burst into Frankies studio, grabbed her face and kissed her passionately on the lips.

“I’m not scared anymore, Frankie. I love you. I want to be with you”

“Grace I--”

“You what?”

“I have a date. With a guy later.”

“Who?”

“A guy I met in Santa Fe. He called me and told me he’s in town. He wants to go out for dinner tonight”

Grace nodded and walked back to the house. She made herself a very big martini with an extra couple bottles of vodka. She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. As she flipped through channels, she saw Ray Donovan was on. Even though it was a rerun, she still watched it. Which was a weird thing to do without Frankies commentary. With Frankie being so forgetful, Grace has seen every episode 20 times over. But, Grace didn’t change the channel. She ended up falling asleep before Frankie left.

  


**11:00PM**

  


Frankie shut the door to see the TV still on. She quietly walked over to see Grace still asleep.

“Grace,” Frankie whispered as she gently shook the other woman. She waited a moment before trying to wake the other woman. And in that moment, she couldn’t help but notice how even more gorgeous Grace looks while she’s asleep.

“Grace,” Frankie whispered again. Grace opened her eyes and rolled them the moment she saw Frankie. She then sat up and moved to the other side of the couch.

“I thought you were going out” Grace said.

“I did, I just got in”

“Oh. How’d it go?”

“It could’ve gone better”

“Why? What happened?”

“You weren’t there”

Grace looked at Frankie and smiled s she moved herself closer. Frankie put her hand on Grace's face.

“You're so beautiful” Frankie whispered.

    Grace blushed as she leaned in to kiss Frankie; her lips gently blushing the other womans. It was more reserved than last time. Then Frankie passionately kissed Grace. She moved her hand down to Grace's chest. Grace pulled away.

“What's wrong?”

“I'm not ready. For that”

 Frankie smiled, nodded and both women continued making out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a good eternity and a half since I updated this story. So, here it is, chapter five. Thanks for being patient! And I'll thank you once the next eternity and a half passes by and chapter six goes up. Anyway, enjoy!

“I promise, if we just talk to them, maybe they’ll go back.” Brianna suggested as she pulled out of the retirement community. 

“Fine. But, I’m telling you, it won’t work. They escaped because they hated it there. There’s no way they’re going to want to go back” Mallory replied.

“Should we call the guys?”

“Yeah. We just can’t call Dad and Sol. They don’t need to know about this.”

As they pulled up to the beach house, they saw a car. It couldn’t have been Graces or Frankies because neither of them had their cars anymore. 

“Hi, girls. What are you doing here?” Nick asked.

“We heard about our mom and Frankie leaving the retirement place. Are they home?”

“Yeah, they’re in the house sleeping.”

“Ok, thanks.”

“Mom, Frankie, wake up. We need to talk to you!” Brianna called as she opened the door and walked into the house. Frankie popped her head up.

“Oh, shit, Grace. It’s the popo. They’ve come to take us away.” Frankie 

“No, Frankie, they’re not. We haven’t even done anything illegal.” Grace replied as she got up to see her daughters. 

“You escaped the home?” Mallory asked.

“Yes. We couldn’t stand it there! You guys had no right to trick us into going there in the first place!” Grace raised her voice slightly. 

“We had to. You two are getting older and unable to care for yourselves!” Brianna chimed in.

“If we couldn’t care for ourselves then how did we escape the home and get back here?” Frankie asked. 

“I-I don’t know. Did Nick get you?” Coyote asked.

“Gross. No. We left by ourselves. All on our own. Because we realized you parent trapped us. It was our idea to leave, it was us who stole that cart, and it was us who drove from the home to the beach then walked from where we left the cart to here. We wouldn’t have been able to do it if we couldn’t care for ourselves. You all think you know what’s best, you all think because we’re half dead we automatically are unable to care for ourselves. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more wrong group of people.” Grace ranted. 

“We can’t stand the thought of you two possibly spending all day on the floor again, Mom. You need someone to watch you, do things for you.” Mallory said gently.

“We don’t need anyone to do anything for us. We’re independent women. All we really need is each other. That’s it, no one else. Not even Nick.” Frankie said. 

“Why is he here anyway?” Bud asked.

“He bought the house and insisted on staying.” 

“You agreed to that?”   
“As long as he doesn’t try anything with me, sure, why not?” Grace answered. 

“I thought you two were together?” Brianna said.

“No. Not anymore. I….never mind. It’s complicated. Very complicated.” Grace said. 

“What happened?”

“Things…..just…..didn’t work out.”

“Mom, I’m so sorry.” Mallory sympathized. 

“It’s perfectly fine. I’m the one that broke it off with him anyway.” 

“Guys, we need to get back to the fact that they not only escaped a nursing home but stole a nursing home police cart!” Bud interrupted. 

“Right. So what were you guys thinking?” 

“We love this house. We couldn’t imagine  _ not  _ living here.” 

“Did you honestly think we wouldn’t find out?” Brianna asked. 

“No, we knew you would. We just didn’t care. We want to stay here and that’s final. It’s ridiculously childish to fight about something Frankie and I both worked so hard for. This isn’t  _ really  _ your guys’ house, if you want to get technical. It really to Frankie, Robert, Sol and myself. We’re not asking you if we could stay, we’re saying we’re staying. That’s it, end of discussion.” Grace said to their children. After a moment of waiting for a rebuttal, the kids left, leaving a feeling of pride in both Grace and Frankie.

“What is this? The second time they’ve treated us like children?” Frankie asked sounding frustrated. 

“It’s ridiculous. I mean, sure, we’ve had things happen but that doesn’t mean we’re totally incapable of caring for ourselves.” Grace answered as she went to sit down on the patio.

“As much as I love those kids, they’re the most annoying little fuckers ever.” 

“Exactly. I can’t wait until Mallorys kids and Buds kid to put them in a home when they’re our age.”

“It’s too bad we won’t be around to see it.”

Grace smiled a little as she looked at Frankies brown gray hair in the setting sun. She’s never looked more beautiful than she does right now. She couldn’t stop staring. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Frankie asked. 

“You just look  _ really  _ beautiful right now. Come here.” 

Frankie moved closer to Grace and without hesitation Grace pressed her lips to Frankies. 

“I love you.” Grace said. 

“I love you, too, Grace.”

 

**The Next Day**

 

Grace and Frankie once again slept together. But this time it was up in Graces room instead of on the couch. Frankie felt like she was in paradise sleeping next to the blonde for the second night this week. To wake Grace up, she gave her a small kiss on the cheek. Which didn’t work. She then tried calling her name; which, again, didn’t work. She then thought of the one thing she knew would work. 

“There are martinis in the kitchen. Just the way you like them.” Frankie sang a little. 

“Martinis?” Grace opened her eyes.

“Yes.”

“I actually don’t feel like a martini. I haven’t wanted a martini in a while.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause I’m addicted to you.”

“Smooth. Real smooth.”

“I try my best.”

“We really should get up, we have vibrators to sell.” 

“ _ Ugh _ . Fine. I’m only waking up for you.” Grace sat up and went to kiss Frankie before getting pushed away.

“What’s wrong?”

“We both have morning breath.”

“So?”

“Just because we live together, doesn’t mean I don’t want my breath and yours to smell good when we kiss.” 

Still in their pyjamas, which was especially unusual for Grace, the women went downstairs to start their days work. 


End file.
